1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains generally to inline optical sensors and, more particularly, to a micro volume inline optical sensor.
2. Related Art
Inline optical sensors for monitoring the properties of product streams in biotechnology and other sanitary applications commonly include flowcells with sample cavities, flow passageways for delivering product samples to and from the sample cavities, and light sources and detectors on opposite sides of the cavities for measuring the optical properties of product samples in the cavities.
The flow lines employed in such applications typically have internal diameters ranging in size from about 1/16 inch to about ¾ inch (approximately 1.6 mm to 19 mm), with the smaller flow lines being found primarily in laboratories and small scale processes, where there is a need for sample cells having smaller volumes.
With the smaller product lines and flow passageways, however, drainage can be a problem even if the flowcells are oriented with the passageways extending vertically, and liquid holdup and air pockets in the sample cavities can also be a problem.